Google showed off Honeycomb, the latest version of the Android operating system, aimed at tablets, at an industry event. He also unveiled the Android Market Web store, sharing features such as in-application purchases for virtual goods, and currency support.

Honeycomb demonstrates how Google's cloud services tie together a variety of applications from companies making devices in several market segments, according to Andy Rubin, Google's Android chief. "The cloud is the central point at which all the applications and services share information. In the future, you can see a real integration between phones, tablets and Google TV, which is also based on Android " he says.

The latest Android version will let developers create modular application, tap into an animation framework and rely on a rendering engine optimized for high-performance 3D graphics. Hugo Barra, director of products for mobile at Google, demonstrated a new music application featuring a carousel 3D view and Google Body, a mapping platform for human anatomy.

Media capabilities on the platform include a camera application with a "slick" user interface to control the flash, the white balance and the color. Honeycomb also supports video chat for tablets that have front facing cameras. A contact shortcut widget lets the user connect through video chat.

Louis Gump, vice president of mobile at CNN, has been building a Honeycomb application for video chat. CNN will launch an iReport tablet application on Honeycomb that streams stored and live content. The free application lets anyone take videos and upload the content to the CNN iReport Web site.

CNN will launch an iReport tablet application on Honeycomb for free that streams stored and live content. The application lets anyone take videos and upload the content to the Web.

Although applications development has picked up, the challenge becomes getting the apps into the hands of consumers. Google is making changes to the Android marketplace. The Android MarketWeb Store (LINK: Home - Android Market ) will give consumers a variety of ways to discover applications for the devices they use.

The consumer will need to click through a series of permissions before making the purchase and to install the apps. The search filters options by device compatibility, price, popularity, relevance, and more. There's a share with friend feature using a Twitter tweet button and the link will direct buyers to the correct market app. Developers will have an option to upload YouTube videos to promote the applications.

A new international pricing option lets developers set cost in specific currencies. When developers upload applications, they can enter specific prices per currency. The different currencies will roll out in phases beginning today.

Google will also launch support for in-app purchases where developers can sell or unlock virtual goods in their applications, such as games. At Disney, mobile has become a major focus with more than 60 million mobile app downloads on platforms other than Android. Disney will soon bring three top applications to the Android market: Radio Disney, Jelly Car, and Tap Tap Revenge.

The Android project is committed to open development and creating an ecosystem to innovate, said Hugo Barra, Google director of products for mobile. With Honeycomb we are enabling the agile style of development that Internet is used to.
Honeycomb will embrace cloud computing and allow for the seamless integration between phones, tablets and Google TV. Buoyed by the processing power of NVIDIA Tegra 2, the new wave of mobile devices will also bring advanced 3D gaming capabilities, including stereo 3D entertainment, to the mainstream.

We have optimized performance at many levels to support multi-core processors, said Barra. There is a lot more 3D effects built into the OS and you can see them at work in the music application and the maps.

Thomas Williamson, head of War Drum Studios out of Gainesville, Florida, demonstrated what the processing power means through a tablet game demo of the action game, Monster Madness. The developer is currently working on multiple Tegra-enhanced games for the Honeycomb marketplace.

Honeycomb, which was designed for new Tegra 2 tablets, allows for multi-tasking and video chat. The widgets system has been updated and is now backed by collections of data, which makes it easy to scroll and manage information. The new OS is also more user-friendly.

What we have done is built some templates to create richer, advanced notifications, said Barra. For instance, headphone notifications, which when I click on can help me navigate the tracks or stop the music.

Chris Yerga, Android Engineering Director for Cloud Services, introduced the Android Market Web Store, which will allow users to find new games and other apps. Now you can go to the browser and discover and get apps from the browser and install it to your devices directly from the Web. There is a variety of different ways users can discover applications. Android Market Home Page has a lot of promotional banners.

Game developers will now be able to create virtual goods and additional game levels and content and sell them directly to consumers through this market with in-app purchased. Disney Mobile took the stage to tout its 60 million downloads on Android. The game developer is launching Tap Tap Revenge this week and has Jelly Car coming to Android later this year.